XL-protein GmbH, Germany, a privately owned biopharmaceutical company, announced today that they have entered into a license agreement with MSD Animal Health (known as Merck Animal Health in the USA and Canada) to develop PASylated biopharmaceuticals for use in animal health. This license agreement follows a research collaboration between the two companies which began in 2012 and included a feasibility study in target animals.

Under the terms of the agreement, MSD Animal Health acquires worldwide exclusive rights for certain biopharmaceutical drug candidates. In support of the commercialization effort, Xlprotein will further optimize the drug candidates against undisclosed MSD Animal Health targets using its proprietary PASylation platform for plasma half-life extension. This technology has been previously used for human health medications. MSD Animal Health will be responsible for clinical development and commercialization of biopharmaceuticals generated under the collaboration.

“We are delighted to be working with such a renowned partner as MSD Animal Health, who is a leader in the field of veterinary medicine”, said Claus Schalper, CEO&CFO of XL-protein. Prof. Dr. Arne Skerra, CSO of XL-protein, added: “This agreement with MSD Animal Health reflects the significant advantages we have seen for our PASylation platform over competing technologies for creating biologic drug candidates with extended half-life and enhanced action, especially with regard to tolerance and biodegradability in treated subjects.”

“We strongly believe in the product development synergies between human and animal health and look forward to the opportunities this collaboration will offer to meet the unique challenges in the animal health market,” says Holger Lehmann, Head of Drug Discovery at MSD Animal Health.

About XL-protein GmbH

XL-protein is a privately owned biopharmaceutical company based in Freising, Germany which exploits its proprietary PASylation® technology to develop biologics with extended plasma half-life and enhanced in vivo activity. PASylation is a fully biological technology that can be applied both to approved biopharmaceuticals to yield second generation drugs ('biobetters') or to innovative therapeutic proteins or peptides, thus allowing less frequent and lower dosing combined with better patient tolerability. XL-protein pursues the preclinical and the clinical development of PASylated biologics in commercially attractive disease areas. Furthermore, XL-protein is engaged in various collaborations with the Pharma and Biotech industry and offers licenses.